School Committee Member Announces Resignation

EAST GREENWICH, RI—School Committee member Dr. Deidre Gifford announced this week that she will resign from her seat next month after accepting a new job in Washington, D.C.

Gifford’s term was set to expire this November and she said at Tuesday night’s School Committee meeting that she regretfully would have to step away from the committee a bit earlier. Her final meeting will be on Feb. 23.

Gifford said that she would save her parting words for that meeting and indicated that she would remain in East Greenwich and commute to Washington.

“I just wanted to give everyone a head’s up,” she said.

School Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Mark indicated she was disappointed to be be losing Gifford’s contribution to the committee and “there’s nothing I can [do to] keep you from going to Washington.”

According to the Town Charter, the Town Council shall appoint a replacement for Gifford because there is less than one year left on her term.

In East Greenwich, the School Committee consists of seven members, each who serve four-year terms. Three terms are expiring in 2016; four will be in contention in 2018.

It just so happens that there was a very recent special election to fill a different seat on Jan. 5. That election, which resulted in a victory for Matt Plain, was to fill a term that was also set to expire later this year but the departing member announced his resignation in October with more than one year left on the term.

While Mark said that the details and the process of picking Gifford’s successor will be sorted out in the coming weeks, there is a chance that the committee might consider Amy Snyder, who lost to Plain in an abridged and hurried race with critical campaign time competing against the holidays.

Town Council President Michael B. Isaacs said that the issue will be discussed at their Jan. 25 meeting.

This story was updated on Sunday, Jan. 24 at 12:15 p.m.